Grand Rapids schools unlikely to go as low as Detroit

Detroit Public Schools soon will have a state-appointed manager overseeing its finances.

Will the state's second city find itself in the same situation? Educators in Grand Rapids say it's not likely.

State Superintendent Mike Flanagan declared Detroit's schools to be in a "financial emergency." Barring an appeal, a manager will assume all financial authority in the district.

According to the state Education Department, Flanagan made the call after the district couldn't meet conditions set by a review team appointed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

"The school children of Detroit are being deeply affected academically by the chronic inability of the district to manage its finances," Flanagan said in a press release. "We cannot let this continue any longer. The students' learning and achievement are suffering because of the district's financial turmoil."

The local school board and superintendent still will handle educational issues, but the financial manager will be in charge of balancing the budget, paying the bills and managing spending.

I would argue that financial decisions have an impact on educational choices eventually, unless textbooks and other classroom resources become free and teachers decide they don't want paychecks.

Detroit has about a $400 million debt. Keep in mind that Grand Rapids spends about $220 million, so Detroit is in the hole for about twice what Grand Rapids spends overall.

So while Grand Rapids leaders have been waving the poverty flag recently, they're not facing the same kind of problems the folks in Detroit are.

Superintendent Bernard Taylor told me it boils down to a couple things, mainly a political environment that allowed the Grand Rapids board to make several difficult choices.

During the tenure of both Taylor and Bert Bleke, the board has cut more than $60 million from its budget, closed about 20 schools and eliminated programs.

Those boards also privatized transportation and substitute teachers, though the unions argue those moves have cost the district money.

"The school boards here have made some of the most difficult decisions to make politically," Taylor told me.

Nobody likes to have their schools closed or programs cut, and Taylor said some boards back away from such decisions because they fear the wrath of angered electorate.

Detroit, he suggested, postponed such decisions as it faced an enrollment freefall that made Grand Rapids' outward flow look like a trickle.

Grand Rapids also approached most of those tough decisions a little differently. Rather than unilaterally announcing which buildings would be shuttered, Bert Bleke assembled community committees from each of the city's quarters and asked them which schools would be closed.

He didn't exactly stick to the groups' decisions, but no one could argue they didn't have a say.

Even with these steps, administrators have warned they are in tough financial shape. They ended the school year again by tapping into savings, and bringing reserves down to about 5 percent.

Occasionally, there is talk about heading into receivership or ending the year with far less in savings.

Teachers union leaders working for a second year without a contract openly speculate that such talk is a negotiating tactic, and argue the district has more money than it lets on.

Labor issues aside, Taylor said his board should be commended for making tough calls. The Detroit board didn't, and now it has someone from outside making those decisions for it.